SMS delivers 10th end-to-end utility infrastructure project for Sainsbury’s in 2025

Summary

SMS delivers end-to-end procurement and delivery of electricity, water, and telecoms infrastructure for Sainsbury’s store developments across the UK, operating as experienced utility consultants embedded within a national retail programme. By taking full ownership across utilities, we act as a single, accountable partner for their store programme, reducing risk, simplifying coordination, and supporting timely openings. This article explores why our partnership has been such a success, illustrated by the recent delivery of our 10th Sainsbury’s project of the year at their new Washingborough store.

Sainsbury’s ambitious store rollout requires flexible utility delivery built for scale

Sainsbury’s is continually opening new stores across the UK, often working on several developments at the same time. Each site brings different constraints, providers, and build conditions, but every store depends on essential services being delivered in step with the construction programme.

When responsibility for utilities is split across providers and workstreams, coordination becomes complex and delays can quickly put opening dates at risk. For a retailer operating at scale, the challenge is not just connecting services, but managing them end to end, repeatedly, without creating additional pressure for internal development teams.

SMS provides a single point of ownership for multi-utility procurement and delivery

We work with Sainsbury’s as a delivery partner, taking full responsibility for the procurement and delivery of electricity, water, and telecoms infrastructure. As a specialist utility consultant, SMS consolidates all utility works under a single delivery scope, providing one point of accountability and a dedicated project lead for each site.

This approach is led by experienced multi-utility consultants and engineers, whose industry expertise and Lloyd’s Register accreditations support confident decision-making in complex utility environments. As an independent provider, our team is not affiliated with any network owner or supplier, allowing solutions to be designed and procured solely in the client’s best interests through objective utilities consulting.

By managing new connections and diversions and coordinating activity across multiple utility providers, SMS also removes the need for parallel utility management and maintains clear control from procurement through to delivery. Our ongoing engagement with industry standards and regulatory requirements reflects SMS’s wider expertise in energy and utilities consulting, ensuring delivery remains aligned across all sites.

This end-to-end approach is applied across Sainsbury’s store programme at scale. This year alone, SMS has managed utility procurement and delivery for stores in Alsager, Bishopston, Yatton, Arborfield, Hendon, Birkenhead, Derby, Lowestoft, and Cromer.

The result? Simpler coordination, reduced risk, and reliable openings

Supporting a portfolio of this size requires flexibility, capacity, and national coverage. Our ability to operate across single connections through to large, multi-utility infrastructure projects allows the same delivery partner to support Sainsbury’s consistently, regardless of site complexity or location.

The new Sainsbury’s store at Washingborough provides a recent example of this model in practice. SMS led the end-to-end procurement and delivery of electricity, water, and telecoms services for the site, including new connections and diversions. Acting as the single point of coordination between utility providers and the project team, SMS ensured essential services were delivered in place to support the store’s opening on the 27th of November 2025.

With SMS managing utility delivery, Sainsbury’s teams can concentrate on each site’s wider build and operational setup. By combining technical expertise, independence, and a fully managed, end-to-end approach to energy and utilities consulting, SMS reduces risk, simplifies delivery, and supports reliable store openings at scale.

Find out how SMS can support your utility infrastructure projects

Our ongoing relationship reflects a shared focus on accountability, delivery certainty, and long-term partnership, with SMS operating not as a one-off contractor, but as a strategic utility partner embedded within Sainsbury’s development programme.